By ROBIN SHANNON
L’Observateur

ST. ROSE — A Montz woman was killed Friday afternoon after her car crashed into the Borrow Pit Canal during a two-vehicle accident on Airline Drive in St. Rose, according to a release from Louisiana State Police.

Dorothy Richard, 65, apparently lost control of her 1999 Cadillac DeVille after a Chevy pickup truck towing a trailer clipped her right rear quarter panel as it was pulling into traffic, said State Police Troop B spokesman Joseph Piglia. The Cadillac careened off the road and into the water around 2:48 p.m. Friday.

Investigation into the accident blocked traffic on both sides of Airline Drive near I-310 for nearly three hours Friday, Piglia said.

According to the release from State Police, the pickup, driven by Junior H. Alexis, 50, of Baytown, Texas, was sitting on the right shoulder of the westbound lanes when it began to pull back into traffic to make a U-turn at St. Rose Avenue.

As the truck pulled into the left lane of the highway, the front bumper clipped the right rear panel of Richard’s car. Piglia said the impact caused the Cadillac to swerve out of control. Richard’s car struck the left median, swerved back to the right and entered the canal, where it became completely submerged.

Rescue divers from the St. Charles Sheriff’s Office and members of the St. Rose Volunteer Fire Department spent about an hour searching for the vehicle in the murky water, Piglia said. The car was finally pulled from the canal around 4:30 p.m. Richard was pronounced dead at the scene.

The release said Alexis was cited for making an improper left turn, but may face further charges as the investigation continues. The St. Charles District Attorney’s Office is being consulted in reference to additional charges

The canal, which runs along westbound Airline Drive from the I-310 exit to Apple Street in Norco, adds an element of concern for the many drivers who travel the stretch because of the potential for crashing into the water, which is as much as 20 feet deep in some points. Several accidents have occurred along the seven-mile stretch of road, resulting in more than a dozen fatalities since 2001. Richard’s death is the first along the canal since last year.

Representatives from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development recently announced that the state will go out for bids in 2010 for a project to install a system of cable barriers that will run between Airline Drive and the Borrow Pit Canal to prevent future accidents.